Preshistoric human existence discovered in Vietnam geopark

Archeologists unearthed a huge collection of rock items dating back more than 20,000 years from the Dong Van Geopark in Vietnam’s northern highlands.

Archeologists unearthed a huge collection of rock items dating back more than 20,000 years from the Dong Van Geopark in Vietnam’s northern highlands.

Experts from the Institute of Archeology found the prehistoric tools during a 12-day excavation that ended Wednesday in Ha Giang Province.

The park’s 574km Dong Van rock plateau won UNESCO recognition as a global geopark in 2010; shortly thereafter, the completion of a new road brought tourists to the park.

Tien Phong newspaper said that erosion created by the construction exposed patterns that caught archeologists’ attention.

The team discovered hundreds of crude stone tools in ancient stream beds and a cave. Some items showed signs of advanced grinding techniques, but others did not.

Half-fossilized shells were also found in the Tham Ly Quyen cave, leaving clues about their prehistoric diet.

Dr Trinh Nang Chung of the institute said his team will continue to research and dig in the area.

“People will see that Dong Van doesn’t just have limestone and fossils of sea creatures from the Tertiary (from 66 million to 2.58 million years ago) period but also evidence of human life from tens of thousands of years ago,” Chung told Tien Phong.

Chung said there will be in-depth surveys and large-scale excavation.

Dong Van was the only place in Vietnam to win UNESCO recognition as a global geopark and the second in Southeast Asia, after Langkawi in Malaysia.